Allegations against the former House speaker keep getting more disturbing

A woman has come forward to name her brother as a sexual-abuse
victim of former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert.

The woman, Jolene Reinboldt,
told ABC News the abuse took place when her brother, Steve
Reinboldt, was the equipment manager of a high-school wrestling
team Hastert coached in Yorkville, Illinois. Steve graduated from
high school in 1971. He was also a member of an Explorers troop
run by Hastert.

Jolene said her brother revealed the abuse to her when he came
out as gay in 1979. She said Steve, who died of AIDS in 1995,
said his first same-sex experience was with Hastert, whom she
described as having been like a "mentor" to her brother. Hastert
wrote a note in Steve's yearbook calling the high-schooler
his "great right hand man." Jolene said her brother said the
abuse took place "all through high school."

"He damaged Steve I think more than any of us will ever know,"
Reinboldt said.

Abuse allegations against Hastert, who was an Illinois-based
Republican, surfaced last Thursday when the former speaker was
charged
with lying to the FBI and making illegal cash withdrawals.
The indictment did not describe any sexual abuse, but it accused
Hastert of withdrawing funds to pay an unnamed individual who was
threatening to reveal "prior misconduct." Though it did not
detail the nature of the alleged misdeeds, the indictment
strongly implied they were related to Hastert's time as a
high-school teacher and wrestling coach in Yorkville.

After the indictment was unveiled,
multiple news outlets reported the "prior misconduct"
involved sexual abuse of a male victim. There were also reports
of a second victim. Hastert has not responded to requests for
comment from Business Insider.

Steve Reinboldt is the first alleged Hastert victim to be
identified. Reinboldt
told ABC she named her brother to reach other potential
victims.

Reinboldt said she confronted Hastert on the subject when the
former lawmaker made an unexpected appearance at her brother's
funeral.

"I followed him out into the parking lot of the funeral home,"
Reinboldt said. "I said, 'I want to know why you did what you did
to my brother.' And he just stood there and stared at me."

Reinboldt said she previously attempted to contact ABC News,
another news organization, and advocacy groups about the alleged
abuse in 2006. ABC said it
could not corroborate her story at the time. Reinboldt said
the FBI contacted her shortly before Hastert was indicted. If
convicted, Hastert faces up to 10 years in prison.